A dinner party at Brandie Gehan’s Dallas home always has three key ingredients: good company, a bottle of Champagne and, most importantly, an inviting table.

Gehan, an Austin native, is a gracious and frequent entertainer who believes dressing the dinner table is a ritual, an endeavor that requires thought, color and injections of personality.

Gehan, 33, grew up watching her mother host invitation-coveted affairs. Those experiences, and her inability to find affordable royal blue plates for a party she once hosted, are the inspiration behind B by Brandie, her online tableware company launched last November.

A former advertising executive, Gehan always knew she wanted to start a business. When she discovered a void in the market, she hired a creative director to help her design a fresh mix-and-match dinnerware collection in bone china and porcelain.

The result: vibrant appetizer and dessert plates ($22.95 to $32.95 each), dinner plates ($29.95 to $38.95), bowls ($20.95 to $28.95) and chargers ($49.95 to $69.95), most with vivid graphic patterns and in cheery colors — royal blue, Tiffany blue, cherry red. What you won’t find: solid white basics, which is exactly the point.

“People buy white plates or register for them when they are married, and I wanted to help them get past that milestone and incorporate color into their daily lives,” says Gehan. “When setting a table, your personality should come through.”

Each piece is named after a famous entertainer or author. There’s the gold-rimmed Zelda, a trippy navy and white plate that nods to party girl Zelda Fitzgerald. And there’s Truman, white plates with lattice-patterned edges in a range of colors inspired by acclaimed author Truman Capote.

Combinations were created based on her own needs. “I’ve found the easiest thing is layering, putting the salad plate on the dinner plate so you can just remove it later,” she says. That way, “I’m not in the kitchen instead of with my friends.”

The line also includes stemware and barware (prices range from $46.96 for a set of four old-fashioned glasses to $72.95 for a set of cylindrical red-wine glasses). Gehan is working on designs for cups, mugs, saucers, trays, flatware, linens and, eventually, dishes for outdoor use.

Gehan plans to launch two or three new collections each year, with a more neutral, coastal-inspired Brandie Home line sold as sets and debuting in April. Her pieces are available online (bbybran die.com) and in a few to-the-trade showrooms in New York. She is in the midst of hosting nationwide trunk shows.

Her ideal goal is to open a Dallas storefront. “Ultimately, I want to have a spot where people can go and play and mix and match,” she says.